Sly Saint
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Fatigue is a personal experience that is different for everyone. It may feel like overwhelming tiredness, which makes people unable to complete normal activities of daily living. It may also worsen the difficulties associated with a person’s brain injury, for example, forgetfulness, irritability, slurred speech, distractibility or dizziness.
Recognising the signs of fatigue as quickly as possible can be hugely beneficial, allowing people to take steps to rest and in many cases lessen its impact.
Our Brain Drain: Wake up to fatigue campaign showed that almost 90% of brain injury survivors’ lives are negatively affected by ‘pathological fatigue’, while three in four felt that they needed help to understand the effect that fatigue has on them.
We asked our followers on social media to share what fatigue means to them.
Physical signs
Many people told us about the physical signs they experience when their fatigue worsens.
Chris Walsh says, "it shows in my face. My head feels like it will explode, I feel sick, anxious and disorientated.”
Beverley Roberts describes feeling more pain than normal when she’s fatigued. “I also start to walk off balance”, she says.
Other people reported their head and limbs feeling heavier, as well as problems with temperature regulation – feeling either too hot or too cold.
Communication problems
A change in speech was one of the more common responses, which may be caused by the fatigue exacerbating cognitive difficulties resulting from the brain injury.
I can’t think properly, my speech gets a bit disjointed and I’m not able to think about what I’m saying before I say it.
"...no amount of sleep can ever elevate or leave me feeling refreshed”.
All sounds very familiar.
I wish there were another word to encompass these symptoms. I note they use the term 'pathological fatigue'.........